Duplicate files are inevitable – and they are costly.  Users sharing files with each other, bulk emails with attachments, music files, pictures; these are but a few examples of the myriad of ways duplicate files can creep into your storage environment.  They not only waste precious space in valuable primary storage, but they also bog down the processes of backup and replication. The problem is so enormous that just about every backup and storage vendor offers a solution to deduplicate your data while backing it up.  Deduplicating during backup takes care of part of the problem.  But, what about the wasted space in primary storage?  Until now, primary storage deduplication has been reserved for the privileged few who can afford to rip out their existing storage infrastructures and replace them with expensive, specialized storage hardware.Now there’s a software solution that deduplicates your primary storage without having to replace your hardware.  CaminoSoft’s Managed Server – DeDuplication Edition software finds and removes duplicate files from your existing primary storage.  All you need (besides the software) is a place to store the duplicate files (typically second tier storage*).  Leveraging our file system archiving technology, the software transparently archives the duplicate files.  Users still access their files from the same folders as always.  During “lights-out” (scheduled by administrators), the software discovers and archives duplicate file content to secondary storage.  Duplicates end up being replaced by small stub files.  From then on, only the stub files are backed up and replicated.    If one or more instances of a duplicate file is opened by an application or user, it will be transparently recalled to primary storage and only kept there as long as it is being used.  Deduplication is available in a standalone version or in combination with our file system archiving solutions for those interested in saving even more primary storage space.* for maximum data reduction, use single instance storage for targets (as shown in diagram)